How to Glaze Flat Kitchen Cabinets

Adding glazing to cabinets creates a rustic, antique look that can give your kitchen that extra touch of country charm. While glazing clings well to decorative router work on cabinets, it can work just as well for flat kitchen cabinets, giving a distressed look that screams shabby chic. Glazing can be applied over cabinets that have been painted a while ago, or over freshly painted cabinets.

Things You'll Need

Screwdriver

Tackcloths

Dish detergent (optional)

Plastic container

Glazing liquid

Paint

Remove the doors of the cabinets by unscrewing the hinges, then remove the cabinet hardware from the doors, using a screwdriver.

Wipe over the doors and sides of the cabinets with a tackcloth. If the cupboards are greasy or grimy, clean them with some dish detergent as well. Leave to air-dry.

Mix 1/4 paint to 3/4 glazing liquid in a plastic container; this will achieve a light antique feel. Mix half glazing liquid with half paint for a slightly more antique application or 1/3 glazing liquid to two parts paint for a darker antiqued look.

Dip a corner of a clean tackcloth into the paint and glazing mixture and rub the mixture into the cabinet faces.

Apply the mixture unevenly, rubbing more into some sections, or wiping off other sections with a clean section of cloth. Because flat cabinets have no grooves or decorative work to concentrate the glazing on, you'll create depth in the glaze through the application. Keep working the glaze until you achieve a look you are happy with.

Rehang the cabinet doors after they have dried for 24 hours.

Tips & Warnings

For white, cream or other light cabinets, mixing gray paint with the glazing liquid works well. Brown paint complements taupe, beige and yellows while black paint is best mixed with glazing liquid for dark color cabinets like deep blues, mahogany or dark purples and greens.